THE SIGN OF BLOOD AND WATER FLOWING OUT OF THE LORD’S PIERCED SIDE

John 19:34 says, “One of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.” Here we have the sign of the blood and water flowing out of the Lord’s pierced side. The blood signifies redemption, which deals with sin for the purchase of the church. The water signifies the impartation of life, which deals with death for the producing of the church.

Because the Jews did not want the bodies of those crucified to remain on the cross on the Sabbath, they asked Pilate that their legs might be broken (v. 31). The soldiers came and broke the legs of the two who had been crucified with the Lord. But when they came to Him, they saw that He had already died. Then instead of breaking His legs, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear.

Some teachers have claimed that, medically speaking, the separation of blood and water here signified death. Perhaps this understanding is correct medically. Our concern, however, is with the real significance of this blood and water. The blood signifies that Christ accomplished our redemption by dying for our sins. The water signifies that the divine life flowed out of Him who died for us.

We have pointed out that blood is for redemption and for the purchase of the church and that the water is for life-imparting and for the producing of the church. We were fallen away from God, but through the blood of Jesus we have been brought back. Moreover, in addition to being fallen, we were dead. We were under both sin and death. Therefore, the Lord released His life to enliven us, to make us alive. In this way the problem of death is solved, and the church as the new creation is produced.

On the one hand, the church was bought by the Lord’s blood; on the other hand, the church was produced by His life, which He released and imparted to us. The Gospel of John is not mainly for redemption, but is mainly for life impartation so that we, sinners, may be regenerated and become the many grains that are blended together to form one loaf, the church.

THE SIGN OF THE UNBROKEN BONES SIGNIFYING THE LORD’S UNBREAKABLE RESURRECTION LIFE FOR THE PRODUCING OF THE CHURCH

According to 19:33, the Lord’s legs were not broken. Verse 36 explains, “For these things happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Not a bone of Him shall be broken.” Here we have the sign of the unbroken bones signifying the Lord’s unbreakable resurrection life for the producing of the church.

In the synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—we do not have a record of the blood and water flowing out of the Lord’s pierced side; neither do we have a record concerning the fact that the Lord’s bones were not broken. Why is it that these matters are recorded only in the Gospel of John? The answer is related to the fact that the blood and the water are concerned with the producing of the church. The Lord’s bones not being broken is also concerned with the producing of the church.

In order to understand why John points out that none of the Lord’s bones were broken, we need to consider the type in Genesis 2, where the word bone is mentioned for the first time in the Bible. Genesis 2:21 and 22 say, “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, built he a woman, and brought her unto the man” (lit.). Here we see that the rib, the bone, taken out of Adam was built into a woman, Eve, Adam’s counterpart. Ephesians 5 indicates that this is a type of Christ producing the church. As Eve came out of the side of Adam, so the church comes out of the side of Christ.

The bone in Genesis 2 is a type of the Lord’s resurrection life, which is unbreakable and which was released through His death. This unbreakable resurrection life is for the producing of the church, the spiritual Eve, the spiritual wife to match Christ.

(The Fulfillment of the Tabernacle and the Offerings in the Writings of John, Chapter 58, by Witness Lee)

Other Reading Online

About Living Stream Ministry

Living Stream Ministry publishes the works of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, providing the authoritative and definitive collections of treasures from these two servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. The writings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee focus on the enjoyment of the divine life, which all the believers possess, and on the building up of the church, the goal of God's work with man in this age.